Out, Out, Damned Spot

Out, Out, Damned Spot

November 2nd, 2010 @ 5:11 pm by Ms. Sloth
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Let me tell you about the bane of my existence.

I’ve got a large birthmark on the side of my face. On a good day, it looks like a huge cluster of freckles from the corner of my eye down to my jawline. On a bad day, it looks like a giant smudge of dirt.

I can’t believe I’m going to show it to you because I spend a great deal of my life trying to conceal it, but here it is.

Ugh. I hate this thing more than I can tell you. And I can’t believe I just posted my makeup-free face for everyone to see.

I’ve never found a decent way to camouflage it. I’ve tried every brand of concealer, but none of them has been satisfactory. When I put on a normal amount of concealer, the birthmark shows through. When I cake the concealer on enough that it hides the birthmark, it looks, well, like I’ve slathered the side of my face in concealer. I’d rather have a visible birthmark than a pancake-y mess, so I usually end up just hiding it under my hair.

I’ve also gotten very good at not letting the birthmark be photographed. I always turn my head slightly to the other side. But the last thing I want to do on my wedding day is always turn the other cheek (literally) when the photographers are capturing the day. I want to be as free and natural as possible.

So I am asking you all for help. Does anyone know anything that will help conceal this damned spot? Do skin lighteners work? Or do you know of a miracle concealer? I’ll try anything.

Do you have any wedding-day beauty issues that are stressing you out?

Tags: beauty, philadelphia |

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61 Responses to “Out, Out, Damned Spot”

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Member

lea_feb2005 (message) 12 posts, Newbee

I use bare minerals for my face it is pretty light on the skin. but I have heard that dermablend works really good for covering up I am not too sure if it is thick on the skin or not. I have been thinking about trying it to cover tattoos cause I heard it works great for that too.

11/2/10 @ 5:16 pm (reply)

Guest

jacquelyn

Have you ever tried Bare Minerals loose powder???? It is a bit pricey, but oh so worth it!!! You can cover that easily (and it does in no way look bad!) and won’t look like you are caking on the makeup. I use the stuff everyday….

11/2/10 @ 5:16 pm (reply)

Guest

ffwife

Have you tried Dermablend or Covermark? My Mom got samples of dermablend at a lupus support meeting. It’s a pretty effective concealer.

11/2/10 @ 5:19 pm (reply)

Member

stephanie63087 (message) 2,936 posts, Sugar bee

how about a vitamin k creme? its sposed to lighten dartk spots such as scars and freckles and birthmarks. and i agree with the bare minerals… or makeup forever.

11/2/10 @ 5:20 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Prairie Dog (message) 400 posts, Helper bee

i third the mineral powder (i use glominerals) and i’ve heard airbrush is great? but i really commented to compliment the bard reference

11/2/10 @ 5:20 pm (reply)

Guest

linda

definitely try makeup forever, and temptu concealer

11/2/10 @ 5:23 pm (reply)

Guest

maureen9004

Airbrush would cover it no problem- just have a trial with a stylist first. The one I went to make me look like a drag queen.

11/2/10 @ 5:23 pm (reply)

Guest

Molly

You might look into a few light chemical peels - if the mark is in your surface cells, those could lighten it if not erase it. Or perhaps a laser treatment.

That is a more permanent solution.

Temporary - I would try bare minerals too, or get a trial with airbrush makeup. The mark isn’t that dark, and any good makeup artist should be able to handle it.

11/2/10 @ 5:25 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Handbag (message) 117 posts, Blushing bee

Mary Kay concealer is amazeballs and their mineral foundation is fantastic… I use and sell both.

11/2/10 @ 5:27 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Miss Sloth (message) 3,184 posts, Sugar bee

I’ve tried both BE and MUFE. No dice. The BE doesn’t cover it and the MUFE is too cakey.

And when I had my mediocre makeup trial, the airbrush makeup didn’t hide it, either. So frustrating.

11/2/10 @ 5:29 pm (reply)

11.

Member

MsTerrapin (message) 609 posts, Busy bee

Benefit Erase Paste is my go-to concealer, but I have never tried to cover a birth mark (however it is the ONLY thing that works to conceal my massive under eye circles)

11/2/10 @ 5:36 pm (reply)

12.

Member

PortlandBride (message) 364 posts, Helper bee

I have a similar birthmark on my collarbone. My dermatologist gave me some skin lightening cream for it, which worked a bit, but then it got darker again as soon as I got in the sun. I have to be really careful about sun exposure because it makes it darker for me. If you decide to try lightening, just make sure you use lots of sunscreen when you’re outside!

11/2/10 @ 5:45 pm (reply)

13.

Member

arclee (message) 533 posts, Busy bee

Can you show a photo of the make-up trial? Was it better?
I have (what seems to me, anyway,) to be perma-dark circles under my eyes. I use a green-tinted cover up- this one :http://www.justforredheads.com/jfrmineyedis.html which works really well.

One other thing to keep in mind, is that your photographer can easily edit that out. I know that’s not as good as making it go away in real life, but might help you worry less about how the photos turn out.

11/2/10 @ 5:48 pm (reply)

14.

Bee

Miss Panther (message) 1,046 posts, Bumble bee

I have a huge cluster of sunspots on the left side of my face and neck (from two years working at a tanning salon and tanning every day — totally my own damn fault!) that looks a lot like that. I wear medium- to full-coverage liquid foundation AND mineral powder every day. It’s a lot of makeup, and you can still see the spots if you look really closely, but it covers them up for the most part, and as long as I use good quality products, it doesn’t look cakey. I’m assuming you’ve tried layering liquid and powder — it’s not exactly a genius idea or anything — but figured I’d share anyway.

11/2/10 @ 6:01 pm (reply)

15.

Guest

asdf

i also have the same problem and typically use a combination of light-to-medium coverage creme foundation and mineral powder. when i’m feeling especially lazy (which is often), i use only the mineral powder which i think does a decent job although if you look close enough, you can make out the spots.

11/2/10 @ 6:11 pm (reply)

16.

Member

Cant_wait (message) 484 posts, Helper bee

I like Clinique Advanced Concealer and Clinique Continuous Coverage. Covering-up well, in a way that is comfortable for you takes a lot of experimenting. But personally I like to conceal just the problem area and fix with loose powder (not too much!). I don’t wear much (if any) foundation. Oh, and by the way, I don’t think your birthmark is that bad at all. I know you hate it, but you’re your own worse critic and I know lots of women with worse dark patches from the pill or pregnancy.

11/2/10 @ 6:13 pm (reply)

17.

Guest

Meghan

I know this is a terribly expensive suggestion, but I have a few friends that got out spots that look like that with laser treatments. And they are really, REALLY gone!

11/2/10 @ 6:20 pm (reply)

18.

Member

Cinnamon Roll (message) 276 posts, Helper bee

Have you tried MAC Studio FX? I think that’s the name of it - it’s on the heavier side, but is really great at evening out skin tone.

11/2/10 @ 6:22 pm (reply)

19.

Guest

jomi

I know this doesn’t really answer your question. But I love women that can own and rock their beauty marks, birth marks and scars. Can we say Cindy Crawford and Tina Fey anyone? They don’t cover them up and they are all the more sexy for them.

However, I have have bouts of rosacea.. and bare minerals covers it every time. Plus, it feels like you are wearing nothing. I’ve tried other mineral makeups, nothing compares. Plus you can go to a JC Penneys or other sephora’s and have it tried on without any cost to see if it works for you.

11/2/10 @ 6:40 pm (reply)

20.

Member

SerenaSF (message) 661 posts, Busy bee

This may be way off base from what you were thinking, but I have heard amazing things about IPL (intense pulsed light) treatment. I know it’s horribly expensive, but I have a friend who had a terrible birthmark on her face and after IPL it was literally gone. As if it had never existed! I have a couple of sun spots on my face that I HATE as much as you hate your birthmark, and I have been seriously considering IPL for them once I have a bit more money. It is expensive but it might be worth looking into since it actually works? Just thought I would throw it out there